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The Natives | Karl Bodmer Takes on the West

German aristocrat Prinz Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (“Prince Max”) contracted the young Swiss-born Bodmer to accompany him on his 1830s era adventures along the Ohio and Missouri rivers with huntsman and taxidermist, David Dreidoppel. Bodmer helped Prince Max overcome his frustration at the lack of legitimate, accurate images of a native people, images previously only associated with European aristocrats. Prince Max used them to illustrate his famous book, Travels in the Interior of North America (re-published beautifully by Taschen). The North America Native Museum Zurich has also compiled many of Bodmer's 400 watercolors and sketches into the book, Karl Bodmer: A Swiss Artist in America 1809-1893. It's a beauty.